


the sweet ride home

by diametrical



Series: aroha means family [1]
Category: ASTRO (Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Single Parent AU, does that happen to anyone else too, eunwoo is a single mom, i switch between eunwoo and dongmin in fics because, moon bin loves babies, sanha likes screaming, they're very different characters???
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-28
Updated: 2017-04-28
Packaged: 2018-10-24 23:52:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10752372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/diametrical/pseuds/diametrical
Summary: 'i'm on the bus and my baby won't stop crying, except you just smiled at them and they did' au





	the sweet ride home

**Author's Note:**

> honestly guys i was having a huge writer's block for my star trek fanfic, but i saw this prompt and i was spitballing before i knew it so I guess domestic aus are totally my weakness

Eunwoo is exhausted. Quite terribly. 

 

He’s always taken this bus ride on routine for almost two years now.  But ever since he’s fostered a baby under his care, he’s been under an inexplicably ridiculous amount of stress, all neatly stacked on each of his shoulder and making his days seem longer and the clouds above his head feel heavier. He hasn’t gotten much sleep nowadays and his usually bright eyes were reduced to a tired and rather glassy stare, eye bags puffing underneath them. Just when he’s staring at the window watching the road blur away and he feels himself finally succumbing sleep, the bus topples over a bump on the road and wakes an extremely light sleeper of a baby.

 

Eunwoo’s drooping eyelids shoot wide open when Sanha releases a soft whimper that rapidly escalates to screeching and kicking, much to the chagrin of everyone on the bus who were also trying to get a good night’s rest. Eunwoo tries to coo him and sing soft lullabies to make him stop but there was absolutely nothing that would render him calm and Eunwoo panics when his usual last resort of singing didn’t work this time.  

 

“Can’t you shut him up?” An elderly man a few seats in the back complains. “We’re all exhausted and tired here.”

 

“I’m sorry,” Eunwoo apologizes. “I’m doing everything I can-“

 

“It’s disturbing us all. Why don’t you just get out if you can’t control your own child?” 

 

“Sanha, please.” He tries to beg as if the baby would willingly concede if he tried hard enough, but Sanha’s relentless, shrieking and thrashing at every hush to calm him down. 

 

“Listen,” the man continues and Eunwoo felt his blood drain from his face. “If your kid doesn’t stop, just step down from the bus or I'll-"

 

“What the hell’s wrong with you?”

 

Someone else quips back. The shift in voices makes Eunwoo turn around and zero in on a person sitting in the front of the bus. Both his stern voice and hard expression blots disapproval with the man’s immaturity. He is also surprised because at that point, Sanha’s loud crying slowly dissolved into soft slurs of whimpers, as if his attention was piqued by that strong, authoritative voice. “You realize you’re making more noise than this baby is?”

 

The man glares back, confident in his seniority. “And how old do you think you are to talk back to me?”

 

“Old enough to understand that a person trying to take care of his kid-,” the stranger locks eyes with Eunwoo, who only stares back in bewilderment at the unwarranted defense he was getting. “-matters more than what makes you feel comfortable,” he pauses, letting his words linger in the cold air of the bus and sink into the elderly man’s realization of his discourtesy. Only silence cuts through the bus, save for Sanha’s hiccupping whimpers, when the man doesn’t know how to respond to the younger man’s strong sentiments.

 

Eunwoo doesn’t know what he did to merit such a thoughtful gesture from a stranger, and his heart almost skips when that person gets out from his seat to walk towards him. He watches him grab on the baggage decks near the ceiling to keep himself from swaying, then he arrives at Eunwoo’s spot within a few long strides.

 

“Is he okay?” He asks him and looks at Sanha’s red eyes and pink cheeks, pained look of concern as if it were his own son. 

 

“I think he’s fine now,” Eunwoo confirms as he rocks a now steadily breathing baby in his arms. He looks up at him, wanting to address his heroic act earlier so he could thank him properly. “Listen, you didn’t have to-“

 

“Hey, don’t mention it. I hate people with that kind of nerve.” he waves him off with a chuckle and takes it upon himself to sit down on an empty seat just in front of them both so he could peer at Sanha and look at how adorable he is. “And I really love kids.”

 

Eunwoo finally smiles. “Got any?”

 

“Just a baby brother I’m taking care of. Name’s Minhyuk, but he likes being called Rocky I have no clue why. ” The stranger says thoughtfully and smiles at Sanha as though he’s reminded by him. He gingerly squats to level his gaze with him. “What about you? What’s your name, little guy?”

 

The ten month old baby just sat up looking at him, the baby internal expression of ‘who the hell?’

 

“He still can’t talk,” Eunwoo informs him with a laugh. “I mean, he babbles nonstop, but I can’t get him to say words that make sense.”

 

“Say, ‘mama’!” The stranger exclaims in his best wide eyed, child-like caricature.

 

Eunwoo couldn’t help but stare at him in endearment. The young man had a warm smile that reaches up to his eyes, shaping them like two crescent moons that brighten up his already youthful aura. For the next few minutes, he watches the stranger slowly enunciate syllables with amusing facial expressions, trying to gauge a reaction from Sanha who already went from a crying to a giggling mess.

 

Eunwoo is shocked at how fast it was for this stranger to leave a lasting impression on his baby. He wonders if the man’s deep eyes resembled so much of a puppy that the infantile mistook him for one, or that the captivating features he was pulling with his face reminded him of a stray kitten they once found at the curb of the road, big eyes that convinced them to take him home.

 

He briefly wonders what it would be like to have someone to help him around the house, take a few heavy burdens from his shoulders so he could finally breathe in relief between work and household duty. He wonders if it was a mistake that he's raising Sanha alone, that maybe he wouldn't be having such a hard time if he was married.

 

In his line of thoughts, Sanha manages to grab hold of the blanket draped around the man’s broad shoulders. And he isn’t planning on letting go.

 

“So Sanha knows how to put up a fight, huh?” He jibes when the baby is apparently determined to take the blanket away from him.

 

“Sanha, give it back.” Eunwoo sighs under his breath, appalled at how hyperactive his kid is towards a complete stranger. But the man doesn’t seem to mind him fiddling with his things, to his endearment. He looks very much like the type who enjoys the company of children playfully messing around. Exactly Eunwoo's marrying type. Hmm.

 

The man sighs comically, seeing Sanha isn’t about to give the blanket without the spilling of blood.

 

He releases his grip in defeat. “Fine, you can keep it. For now.” Eunwoo doesn’t have time to protest when the stranger pulls the blanket from his shoulders to drape it around him and Sanha, enveloping them in the embrace of a woolly cotton fabric. He isn’t sure what to respond while he is being wrapped in a bundle of purple clothing but he decides he doesn’t mind it because it’s making Sanha snuggle closer to him, happily burying himself in the warm sensation of the blanket.

 

“That blanket costs money, you know,” The man jokes when Sanha flashes a grin of contentment.

 

“He likes you a lot.” Eunwoo remarks, cradling the small child in his arms.

 

The stranger’s eyes widen in genuine interest. “Does he?” He places his face so close to the baby that Sanha’s able to reach up with a finger to tug at the strands of his hair.

 

"Very much."

 

"Aww. How'd you guess?"

 

“Well for one, he’s playing with your hair-“ he suddenly pauses in horror, recalling his son’s habit of grabbing. “Oh no,” the younger man doesn’t understand the ominous drop in his tone until Sanha suddenly pulls down hard on a tuff of hair and the man only bites on his lower lip to hold back a small yelp of pain. Eunwoo’s blurting a series of apologies by the time it takes for him to pull Sanha’s fingers from a fisted grip on the stranger’s head.

 

“It’s fine! It’s OK!” He assures good heartedly. “At least he’s laughing now! Look at how cute it sounds!”

 

Eunwoo spares a smile today, one he hasn’t really genuinely given in a long time, but the sight of his son giggling and flailing his small arms around spastically (with a few strands of the man’s hair still remaining in between his fingers) is too much of a joy to behold. The stranger couldn’t resist and leans in to poke Sanha’s cheek and boop him playfully on the nose.

 

“You’re so lucky. He’s wonderful.” He tells him as he rests his hands on his knees just to stare at Sanha in that position, and Eunwoo feels blood rising up to fill the faded, tired color of his cheeks. He doesn't even notice the bus slowing to the corner of the street.

 

Eunwoo doesn’t register how fast it all happens; the bus stops and the driver briefly announces their arrival at one of the stations, and when the stranger perks up realizing he’s finally arrived at his destination, Eunwoo hears himself making a small sound of disappointment. “Ah, time to go kiddo,” the young man smiles apologetically, and leans in to press his soft lips against Sanha’s forehead, whose smile falters when he sees him turn on his heel and move further away from him. Now that the comforting shadow of the stranger hovering above him is gone, his eyes turn watery on the brink of bursting into tears. When Eunwoo unwraps themselves from the blanket so he could return the material to the owner, that’s when his wailing erupts.

 

“Oh Sanha, not again. Please stop crying, sweetie.” Eunwoo coos, trying his best to avoid yet another set of complaints from the passengers. The young man, upon noticing his current dismay, reaches back to his duffel bag and retrieves the blanket, offering it to Sanha as some kind of a parting gift. Eunwoo is embarrassed and tries to politely decline, but he insists.  

 

“Just keep it,” The man tells him as he extends the blanket over. “He needs it more than I do.”

 

And he does. The moment Sanha’s able to sniff the material being wrapped around him, the scent immediately renders his nerves calm. Sanha resorts to sucking on his thumb, his act of unspoken satisfaction.

 

“Any day now, lover boy!” The bus driver prompts, threatening to speed off the station if he doesn’t leave soon. The young man beams a smile at Eunwoo, before slinging the strap of his duffel bag around his shoulder as he rushes towards the exit with heavy steps. Through the open window, Eunwoo watches him hop off the vehicle with a cheeky grin after narrowly dodging the doors the driver closed deliberately without warning.  

 

“Thanks for the blanket!” He calls after him.

 

“Don’t forget me, you two!” The man cheers, waving goodbye with both hands. As the bus slowly picked up its pace to leave, Eunwoo slightly lifts Sanha’s head to the side so he could get a better view of him. Sanha’s gummy smile returns the moment his eyes land on the nice stranger and he eagerly waves his arms around to mimic the gesture.

 

“Wait! What's your name? Tell him your name!” Eunwoo yells quickly, seeing the bus won't wait for him to keep a conversation very long. 

 

“It’s Bin! My name is Moon Bin!” Bin pants, running alongside the bus just to keep waving, “Bye-bye, Sanha!” He calls. 

 

“Sanha, Bin’s saying bye-bye!” Eunwoo makes Sanha giddily bounce on his forearm. “Say, Bye-bye, Bin!”

 

“Ba, ba, baaa—“ Eunwoo laughs at his excited attempt to respond by babbling nonsense, as if trying his best to reciprocate the sound. But then, his laugh becomes a muted gasp when in the next moment, Sanha manages to blurt out a string of very coherent words,  “—ba, buh-bye, Bin!!”

 

As soon as the words rolled off his tongue, it makes Bin halt, anchoring his feet right on the spot where the concrete sidewalk met the curb of the road while the bus zooms by. Eunwoo is paralyzed for a few seconds, his mind unable to process the fact that he just witnessed his baby reach a fundamental milestone in his life. When he looks back at Bin, he sees the awe in his smile overwhelming his cheeks in fine, laugh lines.

 

Just as the bus turns around the block to disappear into another side of the street, Eunwoo swears they both manage to exchange a look akin to what married couples share upon hearing their own child’s first word. 

 

Eunwoo wishes Sanha hadn't let go of Bin so easily that day. 

**Author's Note:**

> i just. melt. at.the idea. of astro. as a family. im sorry if i spitball more shit like this instead in the coming weeks


End file.
